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About Me

My blog is about writing and illustrating children's books which I have been doing since 1974. www.gillianmcclure.com has all my books. I also have another blog: www.paulcoltman.blogspot.com where I publish my father's poems.

Thursday, 24 July 2014

Forget Noah’s Ark! When the floods arrive, there are three
creatures who have their own ideas about keeping their heads above water.

Flood, a captivating picture
story underlining the importance of co-operation in times of trouble, is the
work of author and illustrator Gillian McClure who has set up Plaister Press to
bring back into print some of her most popular books and to publish exciting
new titles.

McClure’s distinctive
illustrative style, which involves the use of watercolour, waxing and sprayed
ink to obtain a ‘splattery’ look, is ideal for this warm-hearted cautionary
tale about pulling together when a soaking wet disaster strikes.

It just won’t stop raining and
out in the fields, Old Slodger the Ox keeps his head down and his eyes to the
ground. Close by is Fussy Hen who is too busy squawking and looking this way
and that for the cunning Hungry Fox. And sure enough the Hungry Fox has his
beady eyes on Fussy Hen. What none of them has spotted is that the waters are
rising rapidly and when the three animals finally realise that they must work
together as a team if they are to reach land safely, there is a danger they
might have left it too late…

A funny, characterful and
beautifully illustrated way to show that getting on swimmingly solves a lot of
problems!

Thursday, 10 July 2014

On 8 July in the Churchill Room at the House of Commons there was
a debate: 'Are we all on the same page? Can a fair deal for authors be balanced
with a fair deal for all?'

The debate was organised
by The Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society who invited writers and
other professionals from the creative industries, politicians and broadcasters
to debate the issue of what type of marketplace gives authors the best
opportunity to make a living at a time when the perception of copyright by the
public is seen as a barrier to free and easy access to the works of creators
and when 'sharing' on-line content is not considered theft.

A technological
revolution has brought greater opportunities for the commercial exploitation of
works. This debate was asking whether the rights and interests of creators were
now the weakest link in the value chain. And if so, what could be done to
address it.

We were told that now is a really important time for authors regarding their copyright and their
ability to make a living from their creativity. Recent research carried out by
ALCS, ‘What are Words Worth Now?’ looking into authors' earnings, showed that
digital use earnings are going up but overall incomes are coming down and the
proportion of professional authors who earn a living solely from writing has
fallen from 40% to 11%. Professional authors are earning less than the Minimum
Income Standard (the acceptable standard of living) in the UK while the UK creative industries are a
world-leading success story. If writers are going to continue to make their
vital contribution to the economy, they need to receive fair remuneration for
their work; indeed, all creators have a right to be paid for their work.

I was interested in what
Richard Hooper, chairman of The Copyright Hub had to say. Having recently
completed a review for the Government into copyright licensing, Richard Hooper argued
that instead of legislation, there should be copyright education and that licensing
should become fit for purpose. He said there needed to be an effective database
with a micro payment system in place to make it easier for the public (especially
schools and colleges) to contact creators to ask for permissions and to pay to
use their works; failure to do so would result in an email saying a theft had
been spotted.

It was all very
interesting but, sadly, with the big internet service providers like Google invariably
absent, would anything concrete ever come out of this debate?